Asiana Airlines to Sue Politically Incorrect TV Station for Slander

Asiana Airlines to Sue Politically Incorrect TV Station for Slander

Video from an unfortunate–and for many, risible–Oakland TV station KTVU-TV report has been circulating online since it aired Friday, surpassing 7 million views within three days of being uploaded on YouTube. It shows a straight-faced newscaster reading the supposed names, listed on-screen, of the pilots on board the ill-fated Asiana Flight 214 earlier this month. Clearly, the names were not only made up, but racially offensive. The news station quickly realized its mistake and apologized after the commercial break. Now Asiana Airlines plans to sue the station for slander.

An intern at The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed the crew names to the station, reported the AP, but where the names came from is unclear.

This is what happens when you get rid of entry-level career-track jobs and give those responsibilities to unpaid summer interns. (Although, if you were a TV news producer would you be relying on summer interns to confirm the names of foreign pilots? And once you saw those names wouldn't you stop and say, "Wait a second…"?)